New York Man Hid Coronavirus Symptoms to Visit Wife in Hospital's Maternity Ward

A New York man reportedly hid his coronavirus symptoms so that he could be allowed to visit his wife in the maternity ward of a hospital.

Per the local CBS affiliate, a man in Rochester, New York admitted that he concealed symptoms of COVID-19 from Strong Memorial Hospital staffers once his wife started displaying symptoms after giving birth last week.

The hospital reportedly started banning patients from having contact earlier this month. After the incident, University of Rochester Medicine and Rochester Regional Health officials announced that new procedures (including universal masking) at all of their locations will take effect starting on Tuesday. This move is being done to further protect patients and hospital staff from incidents like the one that took place last week.

"In keeping with guidelines issued by the Monroe County Department of Public Health, UR Medicine hospitals have implemented a zero-visitation policy to further our efforts to protect patients and staff from the spread of COVID-19," the University's website reads before explaining a few exceptions to the rules.

New York state is currently the epicenter of the coronavirus in the United States. On Tuesday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo explained that the virus is "more powerful" than expected.

"I’m tired of being behind this virus. We’ve been behind this virus from day one," Cuomo said to CNN. "We underestimated this virus. It’s more powerful, it’s more dangerous than we expected."

Nearly 400 people were hospitalized with the virus overnight. This brings the total of New Yorkers hospitalized with coronavirus to 10,929—including 2,710 ICU patients.